Adjustable stop guide for hole punch



March 14, 1961 -K. ZIEGLER 2,974,947

ADJUSTABLE STOP GUIDE FOR HOLE PUNCH Filed Nov. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 14, 1961 K. ZIEGLER' ADJUSTABLE STOP GUIDE FOR HOLE PUNCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Nov. 29, 1956 Unite States A 2,974,947 Patented Mar. 14, 1961 f re A Karl Ziegler, Bonn, Germany, assignor to F. Soennecken, Bonn, Germany Filed Nov. 29, I956, Ser. No. 625,084

6 Claims. (Cl. 269-170) I The invention relates to a hole punchequipped with an adjustable stop guide for file papers whereby it is possible to provide the hole or holes in the paper at a predetermined location, usually symmetrical with respect to the center axis.

It is desirable that for punching holes into file papers guides of this type can be pulled a fairly good distance out of the base of the hole punch so that papers of all commercial types can be holed at the center. The known structures of this type are provided with rigid stop guide slides. Such slides must be supported-in two places of the punch to provide for contact with individual sheets while in operative position. This resultsin the shortcoming that the slide projects considerably beyond the base of the punch even While not in use, which is cumbersome and interferes. During use it could not always be avoided that the slide which was made of flat iron bar material would be deformed and become useless. In addition, the stop bar which extends upwardly from the slide was often made excessively high, which made it more difiicult to operate the punch while located ina desk or in a cabinet. One of the known types of telescopic slides had the shortcoming that it could be readily bent and thus made the hole punch useless. Furthermore, this form of construction of a stop guide slideinvolves considerable weight.

In accordance with the invention which relates to a hole punch having an adjustable stop for the file papers these shortcomings. are avoided- It is an object of the invention to provide a hole punch having an adjustable stop which does not require any extra space while not in. use. Furthermore, the stop is to be unbendable.

Accordingly, the invention provides in the first place a stop at the free end of'a resilient tape which is retractably disposed in the base of the punch and adapted to be withdrawn by pulling. The resilient tape-which is provided with the stop or guide can thus be advantageously accommodated in a manner that it does not project while in the inoperative position. The resilient tape can berprovided' advantageously in the container for the chips. Bending of the tape is avoided as a result of its construction which differs from the rigid slides. Moreover this tape has relatively little weight.

It is therefore another object of the invention to accommodate the slide in the form of a tape spirally in a housing provided in the base of the hole punch.

It is a further object of the invention to dispose the resilient tape in the housing edgewise for winding. and unwinding and to turn the same 90 by means of a guide in the form of a loop for conducting the same fiatwise out of the bottom portion of the hole punch. Thus, the guide of the resilient tape is arranged in such a manner that the tape can be pulled out horizontally in accordance with its operating position while it shifts back to its vertical or edgewise position during winding in a manner that the housing'can be provided on the punch to economize in space as" much as possible.

It is a further object of the invention to dispose the resilient tape edgewise in a guide in the form of a support or receptacle provided at the bottom of the housing for sliding movement in and out of the housing. Also herethe tape can be guided by a guide member in the form of a loop and turned'90 to be withdrawn fiatwise from the base of the hole punch. In that embodiment of the invention no special casing is required for the tape. The guide serving as support for the tape or as a sheath can be constituted by a U-shaped rail or by lugs which are punched out of the base of the punch and bent downwardly. This type of construction for receiving the tape in the base of the punch is particularly advantageous due to its structural simplicity.

In. accordance with a still further object of the invention the tape is accommodated in the base in a manner to provide for special length of the tape by making the support or casing of arcuate shape and locating the same along the side opposite the side having the entrance opening in the base of the punch- The tape may be provided with a lug at its bottom side which is wider than the aperture of the guide member serving as casing or support. This insures that the guide tape cannot slide out of the guide member as it is withdrawn.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an angular member on the free end of the tape, one leg of which serves as stop or guide for the papers laid on the punch and the other as an extension for the tape. The actual stop is, therefore, not an angularly disposed part of the slide as in the rigid slides, but it is mounted on the tape as a special angular member.

In the operation of this device provided With an angular stop member it must be considered that the resilient tape can be readily dislodged from the position of fiat surface engagement with the base. Then the stop or guide does not extend vertically upward as necessary for stacking the papers against it, but it leans'over backwards. In order to avoid this the tape 'is madeto extend slightly beyond the angular stop'or guide member. This also avoids that the end of the tape can inadvertently slide into the base of the punchwhich isclosed up by the chipcontainer. Also the angular member isof such dimension that it does not project above the base of the punch. To complete the guide the" tape is provided in accordance with the invention with markings for the different sizes of the sheets to be punched. A possibility is also aiforded to fasten the tape in-the; individual marked positions; p p The production of the tape with a stop in accordance with the invention does not present any particulardifiiculties as compared to the production of known slid es, Manufacture is possible inmass production. .A further advantage is provided by the: fact that a punchp'rovided with theguide tape is accordance with the invention is not as space consuming while .packed for. shipping as the known devices. I

Further objects and advantages of the'invention will become apparent from the following description-with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate practical embodiments of theinvention and in which:

Fig. 2 is a partial view of the tape with angular stop,

and extension;

Fig. 3' is a view similarto Fig. .1: with the guide tjape retracted; Fig. 4 is a partial sectional viewof the along the line A-A ot'Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the base of the punch illustrating a different method of encasing the guide tape;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section along the line B--B of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the enclosure or support serving as a guide, taken along the line B-B in Fig. 5.

The base 10 of the punch supports the little stands 11, 12 which serve for bearing and guiding the punches or pins, which are not shown, and also to accommodate other mechanical components. A chip container can be provided at the base of the punch 10 for the waste paper dropping down in operation and which can be hingedly opened and closed. The housing 13 for the guide tape 16 is secured to the bottom side 10a of the punch base 10, in such a manner that the punches which enter the matrixes 14 and 15 in the base 10 do not interfere with the tape 16 during operation of the device. The resilient tape 16 can be rolled up in the form of a spiral in vertical position in the housing or casing 13. A vertical entrance slot 13a is provided for that purpose.

It is essential, however, that the resilient tape 16 is disposed horizontally at least externally of the punch so that in the operating position the markings can be recognized along the broad side of the tape and in order that the angular member 18 at the end of the tape will be adapted in the position of rest to lie against the outer wall of the base of the punch. In withdrawing the guide tape the parallel disposition with respect to the longitudinal outer edge of the punch base is insured. The guide tape 16 may be of slightly concave cross-section in a manner known per se.

The base of the punch is provided with a horizontal gap 17 through which the tape 16 can slide. The transition from the horizontal position to the vertical position or vice versa is provided by lug 20 which is formed into a loop or hook which is slightly bent at 21 where the tape is turned 90. At the angular member 18 the guide tape 16 presents a projection 19, which, as the tape 16 is retracted or pushed in, comes to rest on the lower side of the gap 17 and thus affords proper engagement of the angular stop member 18 which cannot slide into the interior of the base of the punch.

In accordance with Fig. 5 the tape 16, after passing through the guide 20, 21 and having been turned 90, can be disposed in the guide rail 22 which serves as a casing or support. This guide rail is provided in the base part of the punch and may be secured thereto by spot welding 23 as shown in Fig. 6. The guide rail is U-shaped and in the embodiment illustrated it is of arcuate conformation and disposed along the side 27 of the base 10 which is disposed opposite the aperture or slot 17 for the tape 16. The guide tape 16 is provided at its inner end with a protrusion 24 which is wider than the clearance in the guide rail 22. This protrusion 24 keeps the tape 16 from sliding out of the guide rail 22 when the tape 16 is drawn out.

The U-shaped rail in accordance with Figs. 5 and 6 can also be constituted by lugs 25, 26 punched out of and bent downwardly from the punch base 10 as shown in Fig. 7. In both of the guiding arrangements the tape 16 is guided edgewise.

The angular abutment member 18 provided on the outer end of the measuring tape 16 prevents the tape from fully entering the slot 17 in the inoperative position of the device. For perforating sheets of paper the tape is pulled out by pulling on member 19 until the marking on the tape which corresponds to the particular format of the paper to be punched is visible. During use of the straight edge or side of the punch plate is parallel to the left edge of the paper which is to be perforated, while the curved portion of the plate which is at the bottom as seen in Figs. 1 and 3 extends beyond the left edge of the paper. The upper end of the paper is then placed against the member 18 while the left side of the paper is placed against the bases of the little stands 11 and 12 which movably support the punches (not shown) which cooperate with the matrixes 14 and 15. The paper is thus properly placed for punching the holes.

The invention has been illustrated with reference to two embodiments but it is not limited to the structural details shown and described. Numerous structural variations will suggest themselves to the man skilled in the art which come within the scope of the invention as recited in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said fiat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base, said one end of said tape being disposed in operative condition with its fiat surfaces horizontally generally in alignment with the top of said base and the other end of said tape being disposed with said fiat surfaces substantially vertically in said base.

2. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said fiat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base, said one end of said tape being disposed in operative condition with its flat surfaces horizontally generally in alignment with the top of said base, and a portion including the other end of said tape being disposed with said flat surfaces at an angle relative to the horizontal within said base.

3. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said flat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base and a guide rail provided at the lower part of said top, said one end of said tape extending in operative condition horizontally from and with its flat surfaces generally in alignment with said top, and a portion including the other end of said tape being disposed edgewise and vertically within said base, and the inner vertical end of said tape being held in said rail.

4. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said flat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture, and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base and a guide rail provided at the lower part of said top, said one end of said tape extending in operative condition horizontally from and with its flat surfaces generally in alignment with said top, a portion including the other end of said tape being disposed edgewise and vertically within said base generally in alignment with said side walls, and the inner vertical end of said tape being held in said rail, and a turning member secured to the bottom of said base presenting guide means for said tape operative to turn said tape substantially 90 whereby the position of said tape is changed from vertical to horizontal as laid tape is withdrawn from said base.

5. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said fiat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture, and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base and a guide rail provided at the lower part of said top, said one end of said tape extending in operative condition horizontally from and with its flat surfaces generally in alignment with said top, a portion including the other end of said tape being disposed edgewise and vertically within said base generally in alignment with said side walls, and the inner vertical end of said tape being held in said rail, said guide rail being in the form of a U-shaped member secured to the underside of said top.

6. In a hole punch of the type having a hollow base presenting a flat horizontally disposed top and generally vertical side walls and an aperture proximate said fiat top, adjustable stop guide means for correctly positioning papers to be perforated thereon, said guide means extending from one side of said base to leave the other side unobstructed and including a resilient measuring tape mounted in said base for sliding movement through said aperture, and a stop member mounted at one end of said tape externally of said base and a guide rail provided at the lower part of said top, said one end of said tape extending in operative condition horizontally from and with its flat surfaces generally in alignment with said top, a portion including the other end of said tape being disposed edgewise and vertically Within said base and generally in alignment with a portion of said side walls, and the inner vertical end of said tape being held in said rail, said aperture being defined along one side of said base in theform of a slot for said tape and said guide rail being arcuately shaped and disposed along the side of said base extending opposite the side having said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 530,111 Krebs Dec. 4, 1894 733,302 Van Court July 7, 1903 1,686,956 Bull Oct. 9, 1928 1,755,468 Cheshire Apr. 22, 1930 1,947,392 Guntermann etal Feb. 13, 1934 2,185,443 Kreutz Jan. 2, 1940 2,314,690 Dawson Mar. 23, 1943 2,368,790 Unger Feb. 6, 1945 2,587,749 Misson Mar. 4, 1952 2,716,286 Penna Aug. 30, 1955 2,836,239 Johns et al May 27, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 345,448 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1931 152,610 Australia July 30, 1953 

